E3 2012: Dollar Dash preview

I spent some of my first day of E3 2012 at the Kalypso booth, seeing the games they had in store for us this year. One of those games was Dollar Dash, a downloadable title coming to PC, Mac, PSN, and XBLA later this year. It is a top down multiplayer versus game developed by Candygun Games.

Let me tell you, this game was the most fun I had on my first day. In Dollar Dash, you and three others play either online or on one console. You each play as a different color robber — clothed in green, red, yellow, and blue — as you dash for the cash... literally. The goal is for you to run around collecting cash that's on the ground. They are either randomly placed around the map or dropped by armored trucks that drive by occasionally; just make sure you don't get hit by the truck... they hurt.

As you collect money, your player moves slower. The entire time you have to beware of the other players, because they are trying to stop you from collecting money. If they run into you, you drop some cash. There are also multiple weapons, power-ups, and defensive items placed around the map that help you escape and hinder your opponents. Some of these are a fireworks rockets that bounce around the map, snowballs, fire extinguishers, a speed boost, and a trap. Getting hit by one of these will also cause you to drop some of your precious dough.

So what do you do with all of this cash? Periodically, a get-away car will show up for a short amount of time somewhere on the map. Get to the get-away car zone and you bank that cash with no chance of losing it. The player who reaches the target amount of dollars fastest wins. I played with a fellow GameZone writer, David Sanchez and some of the PR, and I can't begin to describe the amount of fun we had. The game was close to the very end. Strategy came into play, like when to use a boost, or teaming up to prevent the leading player from banking any more money.

It reminded me of nights when me and a bunch of friends would pull an all-nighter playing games, only to have my parents come in multiple times telling us to quiet down. Dollar Dash is fast and easy fun.

With over 30 different maps and 20 weapons and power-ups, there's a lot of variety to the game, as well. There's also three different game modes, but I only had time with the basic Dollar Dash mode. You can spend your in-game cash on weapon upgrades, customization, and perks, but I didn't have enough time to explore this.

With easy controls, an online leaderboard, and four player drop-in and jump-out gameplay, this multiplayer frenzy is a game to keep your eye on. It can be a fun party game, a place to vent your competitive side, or a thrill ride to a satisfying finish where you can brag to your friends when you finish in first.